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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378773">The Man in the Woods</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggieMaybe160/pseuds/MaggieMaybe160'>MaggieMaybe160</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Klaus (2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, Love Confessions, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:34:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28378773</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggieMaybe160/pseuds/MaggieMaybe160</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jesper gets off the boat as he thinks about how Klaus went from being the axe murderer in the woods to the love of his life in such a short time.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jesper Johanssen/Klaus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>106</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Man in the Woods</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marigold85/gifts">Marigold85</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>The Boat</b>
</p><p>
  <span>The air is cold, but it hardly touches him. It used to chill him to his bones. When he got here, sitting on this same god forsaken boat, he’d wanted to go back to his sunny paradise, his silken sheets, his spoiled rotten ways. The water laps at the wooden ferry as his father waits for an answer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not alright,” Jesper finally answers, his voice raw with his broken heart. “I didn’t mail those letters, and even if I had, I don’t want to leave. I—” He what? He fell in love? He felt his heart fall through the Earth when he saw the look on his face? He’d discovered what it felt like to cherish the smile of someone other than himself? What it felt like to adore the feeling of cotton sheets as long as they were his? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His soul had been warmed from this frigid hellhole by more than him though. He’d seen the children’s faces light up when they opened their gifts. He’d felt their joy and hope spread. He’d gone from coaxing them, leading them to spill their sorrows into letters for him to deliver to adoring their authentic notes of gratitude and pleas for more toys. He’d watched the desolate, gray space jump to life with color and merriment. Neighbors waving to each other despite being on the “wrong side” while their children played in the streets together, sharing the toys that they’d received. Good deeds were done, laughter filled the streets, and Jesper had been part of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesper?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t go with you, Dad.” The ferry creaks and Jesper looks toward the dock, the path back to Smeerensburg, the place he would love to call home. “I don’t know if they’ll have me, but I have to try.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>The Axe Murderer in the Woods</b>
</p><p>
  <span>They had started as enemies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t chop me up and scatter my parts in the woods!” Jesper screamed as he cowered in the snow. He was used to comforts that included not having to go into the creepy woods alone. It would certainly serve his father right for having sent him out here in the first place, but Jesper doesn’t want to die. He’s too young. He had such a long life of doing nothing ahead of him. He was supposed to die old and fat in his silk sheets, not young and afraid in the snow at the hands of some axe murderer!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s this?” the deep voice demanded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? I don’t know! How would I—” Jesper opened his eyes and looked at whatever it was that the murderer was holding. It was that picture he stole from the kid earlier. “Wait! I do know!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’d pressed into Jesper’s tiny carriage. Shoulder to shoulder would be an understatement. The stranger who was probably hitching a ride to go kill the poor kid was massive. He took up the two seats easily, leaving Jesper squished to the side, hoping to escape with his life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To say that Jesper thought about the man all night was an understatement. He’d lived, but that wasn’t the most surprising part after the night he’d had. The man was decidedly probably not an axe murderer. He’d forced Jesper to deliver a toy to the sad little boy. He’d even forced him to stay and watch as the gift was received and played with before they both ran, escaping into the night. It was weird and definitely didn’t match the description of an axe murderer. And he didn’t smell like someone who spent their time cutting people up and distributing their parts all over the forest to be never found again. He smelled like pine and fresh cut wood. Decidedly not how an axe murderer smells.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper returned to the woods. Fear still clung to him, but the promise of the letters in his bag kept him walking. There’s only one way to make it to 6,000 letters. He reminded himself that the man wielding an axe as he chopped wood effortlessly was not a murderer as he approached cautiously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Klaus. The children had called him Klaus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And gruffly, a little reluctantly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Klaus</span>
  </em>
  <span> had agreed with a demand. “Tonight. Same time.” So they were going to deliver toys to the sad children of Smeerensburg together. His way or the highway. He’s demanding and set, unmovable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rides were uncomfortable. They simply didn’t fit. They rode in silence in the dark. In the cold. Jesper had to breathe in his pine scent all night and feel the half of him that wasn’t touching Klaus freeze from the night air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His time was occupied by Klaus even when they weren’t together. All night, he delivered the gifts from Klaus. They sit, squashed together from the time Jesper stopped to pick him up from the moment he dropped him off. First thing in the morning, the children of Smeerensburg pounded at his door with their letters of want. His fear of the man dwindled, giving way to bitter resentment as he went through his days hearing nothing but praise for the man </span>
  <em>
    <span>Klaus</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The children sang his praises that belonged to both of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus made the toys, sure. But Jesper was the one crawling down chimneys, sneaking through the sleeping houses, disappearing without a trace. He was the magical element to the mysterious Klaus. He was the invisibility cloak the man wore. He was the postman. And nothing more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Magical and Awesome</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper was bitter and he was pretty sure Klaus didn’t like him. At least the feeling was mutual. They could silently hate each other all they wanted. It suited Jesper just fine. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>One night, he’d fallen straight into a smoldering fireplace, his pants catching fire quickly as he’d sat in the ash and soot asking himself </span>
  <em>
    <span>why me</span>
  </em>
  <span> for what must have been the millionth time. After running from the house, his butt burning as he’d screamed, Jesper had planted himself firmly in the snow. The relief was instant and welcome. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Klaus asked him, with some kind of concern in his baritone, “What happened?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not a word,” Jesper had warned him, refusing to look at him after having just made a scene out of his ass literally being on fire. Refusing to look at the man who will get the recognition for the gift Jesper had just left despite being on fire. “You just sit there being magical and awesome!” he’d snapped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Klaus didn’t take Jesper’s silence this time. “What?” he’d pressed and Jesper let out an angry huff of a breath. But his eyes softened and he stopped pressing for more details. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper will never admit it, but that first glimpse of the ice melting between them? That look in his eye? It was everything. Maybe nothing more than something to take the resentment away at the time, but it was that look that started everything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>A Laugh</b>
</p><p>
  <span>He laughed. Klaus had laughed a deep belly laugh as Jesper had cheered, excitement shared in the moment of the reindeer speed. They’d even looked to each other and shared the moment until they snapped out of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he’d laughed. They’d looked away of course. They’d cleared their throats and run their hands through their hair and Jesper wasn’t blushing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d laughed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a weird laugh. It was more of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>ho ho ho</span>
  </em>
  <span> than a </span>
  <em>
    <span>ha ha ha</span>
  </em>
  <span>. But his entire face changed with that smile. He looked… happy. That grin. The brightness of his usually brooding eyes. The little creases at his eyes. The grin seen through the thick mustache and beard. It’s the first time he’s ever even really seen his lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not that he looked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Or noticed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper had replayed that moment, that laugh, even the stupid way they’d brushed it off over and over in his head, promising himself it meant nothing even though it meant everything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>A Kiss</b>
</p><p>
  <span>After being ambushed, their carriage in disrepair, their reindeer scattered but okay, Klaus and Jesper sat side by side in a state of shock. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friends of yours I take it?” Klaus asked, a little breathless. Jesper’s heart was still back over the last hill, racing to keep up with them. “They seem nice.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took a moment. The reins dropped from Klaus’ massive hands. Jesper turned to look at him slowly. Klaus looked right back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>God, that look. That thrilled shine in his wide eyes under those bushy brows. His mane of white hair had come out of it’s tie, talling free around his shoulders and mixing with his beard. And that smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper couldn’t be sure if his heart was racing from the excitement of a near-death experience or knowing exactly what was about to happen, but either way, Jesper launched himself at Klaus. Their lips collided, mustache and beard soft and scratchy on his cheeks. His hands dug into the thick hair as he was kissed back. Hands gripped him hard. Tongue traced his lip before Jesper sucked it in hungrily. They pulled at each other, trying to get closer despite the fact that they were as close as they were going to get with clothes on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought made Jesper pull away. Unlike their shared laugh, neither of them looked away or offered mild excuses. They breathed heavily while staring at each other, wondering if the other was going to apologize or try to take it back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When it became clear that neither was going to happen, Jesper’s concern drifted to the question of if it was going to happen again and did he want it to happen again? Well, he definitely wanted it to happen again, but did Klaus? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No, that was insane. There’s like a million reasons why Klaus wouldn’t want that to happen again. First of all, he’s old. His hair is as white as the snow they’re surrounded by, his face lined with years that Jesper hasn’t lived yet. Not to mention, there’s little to no chance that Jesper happened to be sent off to a remote town in the North and find another man interested in men. Besides, didn’t Klaus hate Jesper? Didn’t they detest each other? So, no, then. Klaus didn’t want that again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper’s shoulders relaxed and he let out a breath, but then Klaus leaned in and kissed him again. It was softer. It left Jesper with enough time to breathe in that pine scent and cling to him, fingers threading into his hair again and letting Klaus cup his face tenderly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His hands are rough and calloused from his work. There will be no cheesy line about how they were somehow still soft against Jesper’s cheek, because they weren’t. The softest were his lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should probably…” Klaus muttered when they broke apart for the second time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>The Day Off</b>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s no post on Sundays. If Jesper had retained any lesson from his postman academy while diligently not paying attention, it was that there is never work for a postman on Sundays. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Still, Jesper went to Klaus. He wore no uniform and brought no letters. But somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to think of a day without Klaus anymore. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They didn’t talk much. Klaus had seemed confused about Jesper’s casual arrival, but had let him in all the same. The toy stash was getting low, Jesper had noted, but he would leave work talk for another day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They sat in silence all day. There was an entire house, an entire forest, but they sat next to each other, their shoulders pressed together, not an inch of space between them. Jesper doodled sketched random things on loose pieces of paper while Klaus read most of the day away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” Jesper demanded when Klaus got up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There is wood to chop.” His voice is always deep and even. It always goes straight through Jesper. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leave it for another day. Today’s Sunday. Relax.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus ignored him. He kissed him and took Jesper’s words from his mouth with his tongue. The kiss lingered and Jesper wondered for a moment if it was going to escalate. If they were going to start tearing at each other like their first kiss had been. Feverish. But it ends before it reaches that kind of heat and Jesper watches him go, fingers on his lips, wondering what ever happened to thinking this beautiful man was an axe murderer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Left alone, he drew a picture of himself and Klaus. It was nothing dirty or extravagant. Just them with their presents. Them together. In the only capacity they ever really will be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He left it on the table and set out to sit in the snow and watch that woodsman chop wood with his effortless swings. His chin rested in his hands, a small smile played on his lips, and Jesper could have sworn it was the first time he felt content. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Homecoming</b>
</p><p>
  <span>The trip to the Saami village was farther than expected, but they made it. They’d stayed to see Margu accept her gift that they’d made together in Jesper’s tiny post office, but then they’d gone. Bundled up together, Jesper sitting as close to Klaus as possible, they’d set out on their way back home. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The carriage used to feel like it wasn’t meant for Klaus and Jesper both. But there’s enough room. There’s the perfect amount of space for them to sit together, their bodies touching each other rather than the sides of their vehicle. As they journeyed home, Jesper felt Klaus’ hand take his. Their fingers slid together under the blanket on their laps. They’d kissed. They’d made out in the carriage, at the post office, in the woods. They’d felt each other up and stopped short of throwing their clothes to the wind. But they’d never held hands. It was intimate and new. It forced Jesper’s heart to lodge in his throat and he was suddenly as quiet as Klaus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was when they got back to Klaus’ home, their fingers still twined, the air still, that Jesper looked up at Klaus. He didn’t want to say goodbye even with a kiss. He didn’t want to walk away from him then or ever. He stared into the bright blue eyes and swallowed hard. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus kissed him, their hands parting so they can grab onto each other. It wasn’t  the usual goodbye kiss. When did they start having goodbye kisses? It doesn’t matter. This wasn’t one of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper moved onto Klaus’ lap, his legs falling to either side to straddle him. He clung to him as he was devoured, running his hands into the thick snowy hair as his head fell back. Kisses trailed across Jesper’s jaw and down his throat. His whimpers urged Klaus to keep going. His reward was Klaus sucking his neck and squeezing his ass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Klaus,” Jesper breathed, growing stiffer and feeling the reciprocation against his thigh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesper,” Klaus answered gruffly before pulling his face back to his and capturing his mouth with his once again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other times ended shortly after this point. They’d end up panting, hard despite their pretending that it wasn’t true. They’d always ended it just after this point. But Jesper didn’t want it to end. He needed him. He wanted to belong to him. He wanted to feel his strength, his size, his might. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper pulled his hair hard enough to coax a pleasured moan but gently enough not to hurt him. It didn’t sound or feel like Klaus wanted it to end either. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Turn around.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper did as he was told before grinding his ass into Klaus’ lap. Another groan made Jesper look over his shoulder and steal a kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What were they doing? They couldn’t do this but they had to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was too cold to shed all of their clothes. The house was right there, but the urgency kept them from leaving the carriage. Besides, Jesper had never seen Klaus’ bedroom. The thought had seemed scandalous. It was left for Jesper to fantasize about at home in his own bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus moved Jesper enough to undo the front of his pants. Jesper wanted to look but there was no time with him hastily undoing his own pants and dropping them to his knees. Careful fingers slicked Jesper’s ass with what he guessed was spit. It didn’t really matter. As long as it happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper let Klaus guide himself in, shaking the entire time. He was massive. He sank in slowly while Jesper forced himself to relax around him, accepting him, burning with desire and heart racing with the urgent want that was propelling them both. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesper,” Klaus breathed as Jesper whimpered and gasped. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as he was all the way inside of him, They both stopped moving. Klaus’ lips pressed into Jesper’s neck, patiently waiting for him to be ready for more. He  drew in ragged breaths and found himself holding onto Klaus’ hands at his own hips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They moved slowly. Klaus, ever the contrast to his looks, is gentle and loving. He looked like the kind to take Jesper roughly without tender kisses, without time, just the pounding heat. But they somehow move as one, only building momentum when they’re both ready for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus is large in every sense of the word. He stretched and filled Jesper in all the best kinds of ways. The danger of doing this outside was minimized by how remote it was. And how remote it wa allowed for Jesper to cry out with the wayes of pleasure, adding his own noises to Klaus’ rough grunts and moans. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A large hand moved from Jesper’s hip to his front, fingertip dipping to the precum that wets Jesper’s tip. It sent a shiver down Jesper’s spine and he closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of that hand wrapping around his hard shaft. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thrusts from under him, pushing deep into him, with his hand pumping him at the same time was too much. Jesper leaned into Klaus, eyes closed tight as he came. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Klaus!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hhh—” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper had never had sex before. He’d never had another man inside of him before. He’d daydreamed about both, but he never could have imagined the bliss of Klaus emptying himself into him. He never could have anticipated how good it would all feel to become this spineless and happy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He turned his face and kissed his woodsman before bothering to move or return their pants to their rightful places. His dick was still in Klaus’ hand, come dripping from his fingers, but they had to kiss. They had to taste each other and claim each other more than they already had. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You look happy,” Klaus said softly when their lips broke apart and their noses brushed. His mustache could still be felt on Jesper’s lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am happy,” Jesper announced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They untangled themselves, made themselves presentable again, made a note to clean the carriage, and started back at work, Jesper going over every joy he felt. He couldn’t contain it anymore. It fell from his lips and Klaus gazed upon him, that glint in his eye and smile on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Maybe this was love. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>Cotton Sheets</b>
</p><p>
  <span>And then they were lovers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus agreed to making toys again. Something about that day had patched up his broken heart. It was more than a toy-making operation though. He didn’t want to do it alone, and Jesper didn’t want him doing it alone. They decided to prepare the workshop like Jesper had envisioned. Together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first break that they took landed Jesper on his back in a giant bed with cotton sheets and wool blankets. He pulled his suspender straps off and worked hurriedly to undress himself as Klaus did the same. It was the first time he’d seen more of Klaus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper drank him in. His beard covered most of his chest, but it was clear that his clothes didn’t make up the bulk of him. He really was as broad as he looked. He wore his muscles and fat beautifully. Jesper had been held by those arms, but it was different seeing just how the muscles moved, just how strong he was. And the hair. It didn’t end with his long, bushy hair and beard. The fur over his belly was a good deep gray. His cock, already hard and ready, was just as perfect and huge as it had felt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Klaus came to him, Jesper ran his hands over his body, memorizing every curve. Klaus did musch the same, but their eyes didn’t wander with their hands. Their eyes remained locked, gazes held as their noses brushed and their breath mingled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That time was slower. There was time for Jesper to drown in kisses while Klaus slowly stretched him with his slicked fingers. There was time for their bodies to press together as Jesper sucked on his woodsman’s bottom lip and stroked mischievous fingers over the stiff cock he knew would soon be filling him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper started to move to turn around but Klaus stopped him. He stayed on his back and let Klaus move his legs and adjust him so they could come together. He pushed in, sinking into Jesper with more ease than the day before but also with his lips on his. They kissed slow and deep as their hips moved together. Jesper’s hands always find their way back to the snowy mane, tangling into the thick hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They refused to give up their kisses that time. Even as the thrusts got harder and faster. Even as Jesper moaned into Klaus’ mouth and pulled his hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The friction built between them on top of the oh so good, incredible feeling of Klaus pounding into him had him coming in no time. He stopped kissing as his orgasm took over, but Klaus’ lips didn’t stray far. They migrated to his neck until his heavy breaths subsided enough for him to reclaim Klaus’ mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harder,” Jesper moaned, his lip between his lover’s teeth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their skin slapped as his request was fulfilled. Klaus grunted and his movement stuttered a little before one last hard push all the way in left him shattering with a moan that sounded suspiciously like Jesper’s name. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled off of him and lay beside him, panting and glowing. They cuddled close, sprawled in the cotton sheets, just listening to each other’s breathing even out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even after the Saami people came to help them create the perfect workshop, Jesper and Klaus seemed to find excuses and time to disappear to his cabin in the woods and take each other apart in his bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper even fell asleep there once when he was supposed to be working. He’d drifted off in Klaus’ arms, the most comfortable he had ever been. In cotton sheets. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>‘Twas the Night Before Christmas</b>
</p><p>
  <span>The presents are delivered, the Krums and Ellingboes are busy with their crisis, and Jesper stands beside the sleigh staring at his named engraved beside Klaus’. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t know if he deserves to be forgiven. He should have told Klaus everything from the start. Even if he didn’t when they were barely speaking, he should have said something at some point. But his own heart had been muddled on the subject. He’d wanted to go home so badly and somehow missed it when he didn’t anymore. He’d let it pass him by as he fell more and more in love. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jesper clears his throat and looks up at Klaus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going anywhere,” he says. Klaus nods. “But there’s more I haven’t told you.” His eyebrows furrow but he waits. He’s always patient. “I’m in love with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus’ eyes get wider with the shock of the words. “Jesper…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I messed up. I was only here to establish a working post office, that’s true. I was promised I could go home when I did it. But then I met you and we started doing this. You changed their lives and you changed mine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>You</span>
  </em>
  <span> changed their lives, Jesper.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s a beat of silence as Jesper searches his face, heart pounding in his chest. “Did I change yours?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes.” It’s one word, but it feels heavier than that. Klaus pulls Jesper to him and kisses him slowly, lovingly, perfectly. “I thought I’d lost you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Jesper shakes his head, pushing the thoughts of ever being apart from this man from his head. Pushing that image of hurt in Klaus’ eyes. “I’m here as long as you’ll have me. I’m sorry, Klaus. I’m so sorry.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Klaus closes his eyes, their foreheads resting together. “I love you,” he says softly. His fingers curl in Jesper’s short hair. “I love you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The air is cold, but it can’t touch him. Not when he’s wrapped in the warm embrace of his woodsman, his Klaus. He can’t go home if he’s already there, and it’s clear from the way that he’d held, the way that he feels, that he has a home here in the woods. He can’t be spoiled or bribed by silken sheets anymore when the only thing he craves are kisses so tender. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Merry Christmas,” Jesper whispers, folding effortlessly into his arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And to all a good night.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, god, you’re cheesy,” Jesper laughs. Klaus laughs too. That </span>
  <em>
    <span>ho ho ho</span>
  </em>
  <span> that Jesper loves but will make fun of for the rest of his days. Their fingers twine together and they head inside to their home. </span>
</p><p><br/>
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